Punchline
The PUNCH’s Roster of Imaginative and Effective Leaders
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
In our pursuit of effective and efficient governance, we are launching The PUNCH’s Roster of Imaginative and Effective Leaders.
The PUNCH Roster will list Pangasinenses who make the difference for our people whether in national or local level. It will be about people who dare dream for their constituents and make it a reality. It will acknowledge the best among Pangasinenses who inspire their communities and others to lend their best to participate.
There will neither be SMS votes nor ads to solicit for this purpose. We will not be subjected to endorsement letters or resolutions. The process will be simple – we will validate reports and information received from their respective constituents over a period to determine if a recognized leader’s ideas and achievements have made a difference and have earned the respect of their constituents.
We will begin to list names in the weeks ahead as we plod through ticking off names since there are admittedly a number who through the years have demonstrated that it takes honesty, transparency, accountability, political will and a clear vision to make a difference in other people’s lives.
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FIRST IN THE LIST. Without a doubt, Alaminos City Mayor Nani Braganza leads the pack of trailblazers in local government management and leadership in the province, at least in this decade.
I had already given up on seeing Hundred Islands developed as a primary class AAA tourist destination having seen how the national government, through its Philippine Tourism Authority, managed it for over a decade. Proceeding from that, it was not difficult to imagine how Alaminos would fare under an unimaginative and traditional management of the islands. I felt that Alaminos would be a distant second class cousin to the Alaminos town in Laguna for a long time.
Until the former congressman-turned-mayor assumed office, I knew for a fact that nobody at the Department of Tourism had any confidence in promoting Hundred Islands to foreign visitors. In many published tourist maps, Hundred Islands did not even merit a distinct marker for reference. The implication was there was no major tourist destination in Pangasinan. I knew this because I actively operated the inbound operations of Citi-World Travel in Manila from the mid-80s. Our clients then wondered where and what the hell was Hundred Islands! (Not even the regular prompting of President Ramos on the national and local bureaucracy helped improve the management of the islands).
Today, Pangasinan can be mighty proud of its Hundred Islands, what with the improved environmental care, efficient management of the islands and a motivated populace.
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From where I sit, Mayor Braganza cannot but take full credit for turning the fate of the once sleepy town of Alaminos around to a full 180 degree turn when he convinced the Arroyo government that the Hundred Islands would be in better care under the Alaminos government, with him at the helm initially.
Browsing the city’s website (http://www.alaminoscity.gov.ph/index.aspx), the transformation of Alaminos from a first class municipality to a component city started when he filed the corresponding House Bill in 1997 in support of the then town’s political leadership’s desire to seek its upgrade. It was in 2001, his first year as mayor, when Alaminos finally clinched the cityhood status.
That he managed to convince President Arroyo to think “international airport” in Alaminos when other governors in the southern islands were falling all over themselves trying to convince her to transform their existing domestic airports to international standards, is nothing to sneeze at. That certainly took a lot of chutzpah and faith.
More significantly as environmental groups attest, the level of awareness towards environment protection and preservation among residents has never been higher. Only a firm political will in a politician can make this happen.
The recent distribution of P25, 000 year-end cash gift to the city hall employees surely made other local government employees in the province sigh with envy. It was an indicator on how the city was managed.
His latest initiative seeking to launch a tri-city ferry service between Alaminos, Dagupan and San Fernando LU says a lot about his obsession to make things happen for his city. The usual armchair critics brand it as crazy, foolish and unrealistic. But dreams remain foolish in our minds only to recognize these as works of genius once the dreams are realized.
In my book, he has rightfully earned to be the first to be listed in our PUNCH’s Roster of Imaginative and Effective Leaders!
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THE ‘NEVER SAY DIE’ MAYOR. You have to hand it to Sta. Barbara Mayor Rey Velasco. This guy is a go-getter whose rallying cry for his pet project, an international airport, is “Never say die!”
After being told by Malacañang functionaries to forget about his dream of seeing an airport installed in his town, one would have expected a lesser mortal to just fold, walk away dejected and begin dreaming of other things. But he obviously belongs to a different breed of dreamers. His tribe dream of dreams they want to live!
His initiative to seek private funds to help his project take-off is no easy task, and certainly very encouraging. For him to manage to get prospective investors to even just listen to wild ideas like having an airport in a small town called Sta. Barbara. It will certainly take a lot of faith and imagination just to get investors to stay put and listen for 5 minutes. Only a true believer can pull it off. And he is.
I do hope he will realize his dream for Sta. Barbara. I share his dream of seeing a busy airport in his town before 2013.
Damn the torpedoes, Mayor! Go full speed ahead!
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CALL TO ARMS. We asked our ex-PUNCHER Eva Visperas to do us the honor of interviewing Sister Evelina, a Pangasinan nun with the Dominican Order, who has tirelessly pursued her charitable mission with the poor, the sick, the needy and the children.
At 76 and in her frail health, Sister Evelina has been quietly working with her chosen beneficiaries, touching their lives daily with God’s love and promise of salvation. She wishes she can reach out to more, do more and move faster but she realizes that without enough funds to go by, she can only do so little for so many.
Class HS 63 of then Blessed Imelda’s Academy (yes, my own grade school alma mater, now known as Dominican School), got wind of it recently and immediately launched a fund campaign for her mission. They have sounded the ‘call to arms’ for all the white-and-blue alumni of BIA, particularly those whose lives have been touched by “Mother Evelina”!
It’s time to give back!
(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
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